A team of game developers, scientists, film-makers and advocates have developed a new virtual escape game aimed at challenging perceptions about obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
She Could Fly: Documentary Escape Game is a point and click, psychological adventure game that enables players to explore the condition, which affects around 750,000 people in the UK.
The game is inspired by comic book She Could Fly, written by Christopher Cantwell (Halt & Catch Fire, Dr Doom); illustrated by Martín Morazzo (Ice Cream Man) and colourist Miroslav Mrva (Deadpool).
The aim of the game, which is narrated by It’s a Sin actor, Shaniqua Okwok, is to explore protagonist Hanna’s flat and find a way out by solving puzzles and tackling ‘fear monsters’ along the way.
The game has been developed with the guidance of charity OCD Action, which raises awareness of the ‘unacceptable’ six to seven years it takes people with OCD to seek help after first noticing symptoms.
The organisation largely attributes this delay to ‘the pervasive lack of understanding and trivialisation surrounding the condition.’
Co-producer Mairéad Ruane, who has lived experience of OCD, hopes that the game will address the seriousness of untreated OCD, as well as the misconception that it is just a ‘trivial quirk’.
Ruane told Health Tech World: “While compulsions can take physical forms such as excessive cleaning, many people with OCD experience ‘mental compulsions’ such as rumination, reviewing situations, reassurance-seeking and researching.
“Crucially, compulsions are done in response to the overwhelming anxiety caused by intrusive thoughts or images.
“These can include, but are not limited to, fears about violence (especially towards loved ones); blasphemous or taboo sexual thoughts; and contamination fears.
“It is crucial to remember that the content of these obsessions are ego-dystonic: they are the opposite to a person’s values, beliefs and actions.”
Ruane and writer/producer Sara Kenney worked with a team of ‘Lived Experience’ experts to develop the content and create a global engagement campaign to change perceptions around OCD.
The developers were supported by a team of scientists, psychologists and medical humanities experts from Bath University, Maudsley Psychiatric Hospital, Oxford University, Cambridge University, OCD Action and University of Southern Mississippi.
The not-for-profit game is released today (July 12) on gaming platform STEAM. All proceeds beyond development costs will support further engagement activities around OCD and mental health.
Karen Berger, Editor of Berger Books at Dark Horse Comics, said: “It’s so important for people who have lived experience of OCD and other mental health issues to see a story about somebody like themselves, to see what their experiences are, how they navigate that, and how they get through that.
“This inventive and informative escape game beautifully captures the emotional power of the comic which has resonated with so many readers.”
Asked what more should be done to improve how OCD is treated in the UK, Ruane said: “We need the new government to start taking OCD and its treatment seriously.
“The OCD Action manifesto outlines exactly how they can do this.
“We are encouraging people to sign OCD Action’s open letter.”
